Wednesday, July 25, 2012

You Are My Only, by Beth Kephart

I just loved this touching and often heartwrenching novel about two lives that begin together and then are torn apart.

Emmy Rane a teenage bride and young mother, is devoted to her young daughter, Baby. But one moment of inattention leads to the kidnapping of Baby. Emmy is so distraught that her husband institutionalizes her in a mental institution, which becomes her prison. At the same time, we are introduced to Sophie, a homeschooled teenage girl, who has been moved by her mother from place to place and is never given the opportunity to make friends or even go outside to play. But by chance she does meet her next door neighbor, Joey, and his two aunts, where she is finally introduced to a world outside of her cramped apartment. This leads her to wonder about her own identity, the secret to which seems to be in some boxes that her mother has hidden from her.  The search leads inexorable to secrets uncovered that are at once tragic and revelatory.



I would like to bestow a life time YA Lit achievement award to Patrick Ness. Because the Chaos Walking trilogy is just a monumentally brilliant achievement. And it's going to be a movie in the near future? Oh please, please, please do it justice!